OAK PARK : Supervisors Endorse Bimonthly Meetings

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors unanimously endorsed a compromise between Supervisor Maria VanderKolk and the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council allowing the council to meet every other month.

VanderKolk, who has been at odds with the council, had threatened to cut its monthly meetings to as few as one a year.

“All of us need to be on the same team and work together to address Oak Park’s concerns,” said council member George Anterasian, who drafted the compromise with VanderKolk.

At a special meeting earlier this week, the council also decided to sponsor occasional “town forums” during months when no formal meetings were scheduled to discuss urgent issues, Chairman Kent Behringer said.

The five-member elected council is solely advisory to the county supervisor. The council has recently been at odds with VanderKolk over such issues as a new Oak Park library and bus service through Oak Park.

“Naturally, I would have preferred to continue my monthly meetings, but the bimonthly schedule is at least workable,” Behringer said.

Because Oak Park is an unincorporated community, services are provided by the county. Because her district includes Oak Park, VanderKolk spends much of her time as a liaison between Oak Park residents and county agencies.

VanderKolk had complained that the council wasted her staff’s time and budget because it often debated issues that her office was already addressing.

Behringer said the council plans to look into ways Oak Park could gain more independence from county government. He said one possibility was the creation of a community services district, which would be run by an elected board and would have some taxing authority.

In the past, Oak Park has considered becoming a city but rejected the option because of the expense.